Computing

INTENT

At Dovedale Primary School, we recognise that computing is a central aspect of our children’s everyday lives and their futures. Our Computing curriculum aims to provide all our children from a young age, opportunities to develop and apply their computational thinking and cultivate and deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding, to equip them to become confident, active participants in an ever-changing digital world.

Our key focus is to ensure our children understand and have full awareness that online experiences can be both positive and beneficial but can also have negative implications and disadvantages.  We want our children to therefore be conscious of their own and others’ online behaviour and develop effective strategies to keep safe and make positive contributions online. We aim for our children to become respectful, responsible, and confident users of technology to keep both themselves and others safe online.

We aim to inspire and engage our children through a quality, relevant and modern computing education that is broad and balanced and enables all our children to become competent in the relevant skills and knowledge to understand the core areas of computing: Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy.

In Computer Science, we will teach the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. We aim to enhance this knowledge and understanding by ensuring our children are equipped to use Information Technology to create programs, systems, and a range of content. We intend to ensure our children become digitally literate by being able to explore, use, express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology.

We intend to provide a Computing curriculum that extends beyond discrete teaching and instead provides children opportunities to apply and develop their knowledge, skills and understanding from Computing to other digital contexts and across wider learning in the Curriculum. 

IMPLEMENTATION 

At Dovedale Primary school, we have implemented ‘The Teach Computing Curriculum’ from Year 1 to Year 6, which has been created by subject experts of the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) based on the latest pedagogical research and has been funded by the Department for Education.

Our broad and balanced Computing curriculum covers all aspects of the National Curriculum. This can be seen on our Curriculum Map. 

The National Curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

• can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
• can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
• can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
• are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology

Our Computing curriculum is an innovative framework, coherently planned and sequenced to allow each year group to build on prior learning from each lesson, through the units and into their next year whilst also continuing to progress and develop their computing knowledge, understanding, concepts and skills throughout. 

• Computing systems and networks
• Creating media x2
• Programming (A and B)
• Data and information

Each theme will be taught over each term and two computing lessons are taught fortnightly.

EYFS 

Despite computing not being explicitly mentioned within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework, which focuses on the learning and development of children from birth to age five, at Dovedale we want to provide many opportunities for young children to develop their computational thinking and the necessary problem-solving skills needed for everyday life. Computational thinking is the foundation of our digital world, with the concepts forming the basis of much computer science. At Dovedale, we want our children to have rich experiences that will provide them with the foundations in computing to transition successfully into the ‘Teach Computing Curriculum’.

England’s national curriculum for computing states that:

"a high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world."

Additionally, the problem solving of Computational Thinking closely aligns with the Characteristics of Effective Learning. Therefore, by aligning EYFS provision to Computational Thinking, we use the same vocabulary as used by our colleagues in KS1 and ensure progression throughout school.

At Dovedale, through Computing at School’s (CAS) Barefoot Computing resources, the children will be provided with both plugged and unplugged opportunities to develop their computational thinking. Computational thinking is about looking at a problem in a way in which a computer can help us to solve it. This is a two-step process:

1. First, we think about the steps needed to solve a problem.
2. Then, we use our technical skills to get the computer working on the problem.

Computational thinking involves six different concepts (Logic, Algorithms, Decomposition, Patterns, Abstraction and Evaluation) and five computational thinking approaches (Tinkering, Creating, Debugging, Persevering and Collaborating).

Online Safety

At Dovedale Primary School, a central focus of our Computing curriculum is to ensure our children are safe and have the necessary skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes to keep themselves and others safe online. We want our children to enjoy being online, whilst accessing safe online spaces and benefit from all the opportunities that a connected world can bring them, which is appropriate to their age and stage of learning.

At Dovedale, we have implemented ‘Project Evolve – Education for a Connected World’, a framework which aims to support and broaden the provision of online safety education, so that it is empowering, meaningful, builds resilience and effects positive culture change. The objectives promote the development of safe and appropriate long-term behaviours, and support educators in shaping the culture within their setting and beyond.

Online safety is threaded through our Computing themes across the academic year for each year group.  Where relevant to the lesson (which can be seen on our computing curriculum map), online safety objectives will be covered through a direct link to ‘Project Evolve – Education for a Connected World’. Additionally, at Dovedale we have implemented these eight strands into our ‘Wellbeing Wednesday Assembly’ sessions which will take place each week. Some strands are incorporated into PSHCE lessons due to the objective content and suitability. Therefore, we are implementing full coverage over each area. Each strand will cover the appropriate knowledge, skills, behaviours, and attitudes relevant and suitable for each year group and this will continue to progress over each year. Therefore, there are many opportunities for our children to reflect upon online safety already taught, through ‘Flashback Fluency’ and to develop a deeper understanding of online safety.

This is a summary of each of the 8 strands in ‘Project Evolve – Education for a Connected World’:

Self-image and identity - This strand explores the differences between online and offline identity beginning with self-awareness, shaping online identities and media influence in propagating stereotypes. It identifies effective routes for reporting and support and explores the impact of online technologies on self-image and behaviour.

Online relationships - This strand explores how technology shapes communication styles and identifies strategies for positive relationships in online communities. It offers opportunities to discuss relationships, respecting, giving and denying consent and behaviours that may lead to harm and how positive online interaction can empower and amplify voice.

Online reputation - This strand explores the concept of reputation and how others may use online information to make judgements. It offers opportunities to develop strategies to manage personal digital content effectively and capitalise on technology’s capacity to create effective positive profiles.

Online bullying - This strand explores bullying and other online aggression and how technology impacts those issues. It offers strategies for effective reporting and intervention and considers how bullying and other aggressive behaviour relates to legislation.

Managing online information - This strand explores how online information is found, viewed and interpreted. It offers strategies for effective searching, critical evaluation of data, the recognition of risks and the management of online threats and challenges. It explores how online threats can pose risks to our physical safety as well as online safety. It also covers learning relevant to ethical publishing.

Health, well-being and lifestyle - This strand explores the impact that technology has on health, well-being and lifestyle e.g. mood, sleep, body health and relationships. It also includes understanding negative behaviours and issues amplified and sustained by online technologies and the strategies for dealing with them.

Privacy and security - This strand explores how personal online information can be used, stored, processed and shared. It offers both behavioural and technical strategies to limit impact on privacy and protect data and systems against compromise.

Copyright and ownership - This strand explores the concept of ownership of online content. It explores strategies for protecting personal content and crediting the rights of others as well as addressing potential consequences of illegal access, download and distribution.

I-vengers – Digital Leaders

At Dovedale Primary school, we have implemented ‘i-vengers’ which is a peer-led programme where eight Year 5 and Year 6 pupils became digital leaders, to support and develop online safety in our school. It is a fully funded initiative through Derbyshire Police & Crime Commissioner and Derbyshire County Council, endorsed by the Derbyshire and Derby City Safeguarding Children Partnership. We collaborate at lunchtimes and explore the given tasks set by the programme. We discuss and develop our knowledge and ideas and then incorporate the rest of the school, to deepen everyone’s understanding about online safety. We achieved our Bronze award for this.

IMPACT

At Dovedale Primary school, the Computing curriculum is monitored through a range of methods to ensure it is efficient and effective. Feedback is provided to the class teachers to show what is working well and how it could be developed further to be more successful.   

It is monitored through:

Planning Scrutiny - The termly planning is monitored to ensure the content has full coverage and is sequential and is meeting the needs of all learners.

Lesson Feedback sheets – On each Computing lesson planning sheet, the teachers will record the successful/positive areas of each lesson, any gaps identified and next steps. This takes place after each lesson taught.

Teacher Voice Questionnaires– Teachers are asked a range of questions linked to the Computing curriculum to find out what is working well and what needs improving. This is reflected upon and improvements are made to the Computing curriculum, or staff training and CPD is provided, to ensure high quality teaching and learning is maintained.

Pupil Voice Questionnaires – Children will be given the opportunity to feedback on Computing to share positive aspects of their learning, areas for improvement and suggestions to progress Computing forwards. It also highlights the children’s retention of knowledge, understanding and skills. 

Learning walks - Computing lessons are observed to see the implementation of the Computing curriculum and to observe if it correlates with the framework and expectations.